Lovers and Friends
by A-Scrape1010
Summary: Haley James and Nathan Scott have been best friends for years. But love is in the air these days at Tree Hill High. Can best friends become lovers? Or will Nathan's semi-estranged brother become the object of Haley's affections?
1. Funny Little Feeling

**A/N: Okay, so this is an idea from kayatj for a one-shot that I'm going to turn into a multi-chapter fic... I'm still writing Nathan Scott, HCM.. But I thought it would be fun to get started on another one. College Algebra is over as of this coming Monday so I'll have plenty of time and concentration to write both fics! Ahh! Anyway, hopefully you'll like it.. Read on and review! ((Chapter title is a song by Rock N Roll Soldiers!))**

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**Chapter 1: Funny Little Feeling**

Haley stood in the doorway of the gym, holding her Biology book in front of her. It was 4:30 and she'd had enough of the anatomy and functions of plant cells to last her two lifetimes. She was waiting for Nathan, like she did every day, but today was especially important. Today they had to write their predictions for their Sophomore year of high school.

Haley knew Nathan thought she was a total dweeb for insisting they write predictions every year but this was something they did together, every year, since 7th grade. Since before Nathan became a huge deal at Tree Hill High and before Haley became Super Nerd. Okay, so she'd always been a nerd, but at least before high school, people didn't call her that. Sometimes she felt like she didn't fit in. She knew she didn't fit in with Nathan's friends and teammates. She wasn't popular like he was. She was just his geeky sidekick that Nathan felt he had to protect. Maybe he saw her as a sister... _Well, that's depressing..._

Just then, Nathan walked out of the locker room and toward Haley. There she stood, his best friend, in her boot cut jeans and that ugly ass poncho. He was going to have to burn that thing one day. She looked lost in thought and kinda sad._ Must be stressin over that Bio test..._ "Hales!" he called out to her. "Ready to go?"

"Yes!" she sounded a little too enthusiastic. Really, she was just ready to spend some time with Nathan. He'd been so busy lately getting ready for basketball. Dan, Nathan's ass of a father, kept him constantly practicing or working out. That left Haley without her best friend a lot of the time.

"Well damn, really ready, ain't ya?" Nathan joked.

"Aren't you." Haley corrected.

"Yeah, definitely. Let's get outta here." Nathan said.

Haley laughed, "I was correcting your grammar, dork," she said as she lightly pushed Nathan's arm. "Ya know, if you need help in English, I'm at the tutor center Monday and Wednesday til 5:30!" she joked.

"Alright, alright, I hear you!" Nathan said. He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her down the hallway. It wasn't until they had walked out the school doors that Nathan realized his hand was still on Haley and that it made him feel so good to be touching her. He had to figure out some way to squash that. Haley would never see him that way. She was way too good for him anyway and she deserved a lot better. But no matter what he kept telling himself, he couldn't deny the fact that he had felt this way since they were in the 8th grade.

He remembered it like it was yesterday...

_They had met at the dock down by his parent's beach house to write their predictions for 8th grade year. It was sunset after the first day of school. A breeze blew Haley's long, straight, perfectly mousy brown hair as Nathan took in a deep breath. She smelled like warm vanilla sugar. She wore this plain, long-sleeved black t-shirt, but it fit tight and hugged every curve. Her classic-Haley boot cut jeans were ripped at the knees from where she had tripped and fallen the day before._

"_There! Finished!" she said, triumphantly, as she folded her piece of paper. _

"_That fast? No fair! I'm only on #2!" Nathan protested._

"_Well write faster, Nate!" Haley said. Tapping her foot, she added, "Come on, slowpoke! I wanna find the perfect spot on the beach!"_

_They had started this tradition last year of making predictions as to what would occur during that school year. Last year they made their predictions the night before school started. That turned out pretty shitty, as Nathan recalled, so they decided to try again this year. Of course, not until they had been through the first day of school. After they finished writing, they would put their papers in a shoebox and watch the sunset on the beach. They were definitely best friends. Who else would go along with things like this? _

_Nathan had truly been distracted today. For some reason, maybe it was the way the sun was hitting her face right now, she looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous. She had held her head down as she wrote her predictions and all he could do was stare at her. He guessed she didn't notice, probably too enamored in her ideas for the future, but his eyes had never left her. He hurried through writing his predictions, knowing that next year he wouldn't be able to distinguish what they were, and folded his piece of paper. Placing it in the shoebox, he put the lid on top and extended his hand to Haley. _

"_Let's go, Hales! Pick your perfect spot.." he said._

_Haley grabbed his hand and he felt a spark of electricity. He couldn't understand what was going on today. Why was he thinking of his best friend this way? Was he starting to fall in love with her? No. Not starting to. He was already there. _Well, if this is what an epiphany is like, it's pretty damn good...

_As they sat on the beach in Haley's "perfect spot," Nathan realized just how deep his feelings for Haley were. Nothing she could ever do or say would change it. But he didn't want to ruin their friendship. He would hide his feelings until he just couldn't keep it in anymore. If that meant he wouldn't be able to tell her until they were old and gray, then so be it, but he was not going to screw this up. He loved her... that was enough for him right now._

Haley brought Nathan out of his thoughts when they had reached the sidewalks in front of the school, "So, I have to work down at the cafe tonight. In like, an hour, actually. So can we change our normal prediction-making spot to the rooftop of the cafe? I know, I know, I'm horrible and I'm not sticking to tradition, but I can at least stick to the DAY we make predictions if we can change the location..." she rambled.

Nathan stopped her when she took a breath and said, "Hales, that's fine. I'm just surprised you're willing to give up your sunset on the beach for making predictions on the right day. What if we just waited til tomorrow?"

"No, no, it's okay. Forget the sunset. I want to make sure that we hold to the day!" she said very matter-of-factly.

Nathan laughed, "we didn't hold to the day 8th grade year! We moved it back a day, remember? We weren't happy with how the first day of school went? We thought we had jinxed ourselves."

"Oh I remember... Quite well. But we held to that same day last year! So for the last two years at least we've done well and I don't wanna mess THAT part up!" Haley said. "And if we don't get headed to the cafe, we're not going to be able to make predictions at all until after I'm off work. So can we go? Pllleeeaaassseeee..." she begged.

Nathan rolled his eyes. She was so cute. And if he was having to go to the cafe so she wouldn't be late for work, he could hang around for a little bit after they made their predictions. He was hungry anyway, he could always eat. Maybe he could even stick around long enough that he could walk her home. _Nate, be careful... Best friends. Stay in the friend zone. She's not thinking about things the way you are._

Little did Nathan know, Haley had somewhat planned this. She didn't have to take THIS shift at the cafe, but she did. She knew Nathan would get out of practice pretty late since it was the first of the year and that would mean, she would have to relocate the prediction-making spot. She knew her best friend like the back of her hand and that meant that he would be hungry. He would stay and eat and since the cafe would probably close shortly after he was done, he would either offer to walk her home or she would play the scared, damsel in distress and beg him to walk home with her. Oh yeah, she had this all worked out. She was smart. They didn't call her TutorGirl for nothing!

"We better hurry then," Nathan said, "don't want you to be late."

Haley clapped her hands and threw her arms around Nathan's neck as she jumped to hug him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Nathan took in the scent of her hair as they hugged. Strawberries and vanilla, like always. She smelled so good to him, she didn't need perfume. He knew now exactly what predictions he was going

to make now..

As they headed to the cafe, they talked about their classes and who all was in each one. Haley, of course, was excited about her teachers. Nathan was passive about class and more interested about Coach Durham and how he would do this year on the basketball team. Nathan told Haley about how his half-brother, Lucas, would be joining them this season.

"How do you think that's gunna go over? Are you okay with it?" Haley asked.

"Who knows really.. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm fine.. he's kind of an asshole, really. I just can't wait to see how Dan reacts to it." Nathan scoffed.

They reached the cafe and Nathan held the door open for Haley. It felt like it meant something totally different than it ever had before, to both of them.

"Hey Haley! How are you this lovely afternoon?" Karen, the cafe owner, ((and not to mention, Lucas Scott's mom)) asked. "It's not quite time for your shift, did you just miss me?"

Haley smiled and said, "I'm good!" she laughed, "I did, BUT Nathan and I are going to make our predictions and I didn't want to be late for work. Soooo, we're going to do them here."

Karen laughed at Haley's enthusiasm. "Well, alright then! Nathan, how was practice?"

"Okay I guess. Since it was the first day, there wasn't much to it. I was really just ready to get outta there." Nathan shrugged. _And spend time with Haley... ahh, I'm really gunna have to do somethin about this!_

Karen could tell Nathan was leaving something out but she wasn't quite sure what it was. Her intuition told her that it had something to do with Haley. But she pushed that aside as she had always envisioned Lucas and Haley getting together someday. If only her son would stop being such a loner...

"Well get to making your predictions," Karen said. "These tables aren't going to wait themselves!"

Haley smiled and looked at Nathan. He felt his knees get weak. _Yep, gotta do something..._ he thought. She grabbed his hand and nearly drug him up the stairs and to the roof. Once they were there, Haley sat her books on the table and pulled her binder from the middle of them, taking out two sheets of notebook paper. Nathan grabbed one and pulled two pens from his backpack.

Haley smiled at him and said, "Thanks.. Now, are you gunna take ten years to make your predictions again?" she laughed.

Nathan pursed his lips and gave her a look. "I have all my predictions in my head, thank you very much! I just needed the paper to write them down on."

"Oooohhh, look at him go! He's prepared, ladies and gentlemen!" she snickered.

Nathan shook his head and said, "Laugh all you want, James, but when you're late for your shift and I'm done making my predictions, I'll be the one laughing."

Haley rolled her eyes and sat on top of the picnic table, placing her sheet of paper on top of her binder and grabbing a pen from Nathan's hand. Putting pen to paper, her predictions flowed. _First one, this year, Nathan and I will be together.. Second, I'll become a cheerleader.. Third..._

Nathan was scribbling away, trying to beat Haley. _First and the only one that really matters is, this year I'll make Haley my girlfriend! Second, I'll take the Ravens to the state championship. Third, The Ravens will win state. Fourth, I'll fall more and more in love with Haley James every single day... _

When Nathan was finished, he folded his paper and jumped up from the bench of the picnic table. Haley's head popped up. "Oh this is so not fair," she said.

"Oh ho, yes, yes it is. Last year you left me in the dust... I wasn't about to let it happen twice," he joked.

Haley looked back at her paper and pretended that Nathan wasn't even there. Or at least, she tried to. She couldn't help but focus on her first prediction. It had her distracted. Her second was to help her reach her first since being a cheerleader would put her closer to Nathan more often, not like she wasn't at every game anyway. This would just give her the chance to show just how much she supported him, how much she cared. Especially since she was NOT the type to be a cheerleader. Oh well, if it got her closer to her first prediction, she would take it!

Nathan stood with his back against the wall, watching Haley, waiting for her to finish. When she finally did, she folded her paper and handed it to Nathan to put in the box.

"There we go! Predictions for sophomore year! Now get to work, woman! Make me a sandwich!" Nathan laughed loudly.

Haley slapped his arm and said, "Good luck with that one!"

Nathan smiled, "Really, you're gunna be late, let's get back downstairs."

The two best friends walked back downstairs to the cafe and Haley went behind the counter. She grabbed her apron and wrapped it around her waist. Nathan sat down at the counter and simply watched her. This was going to be a great year...

**Whatcha think? Reviews or all sorts are welcomed! =)**


	2. 23

**A/N: So, a big thanks to my partner in idea-forming, kaya17tj! I'm really excited to get this chapter out.. since algebra's over, I have time to write again. And thanks to my insomnia, I have all the energy I need to pump out a chapter! Lovin it... Hopefully you'll be as excited as I am to read this and you'll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing! Thanks for checkin it out and please please review! =) Enjoy! ((Btw, flashbacks are separated by *.*.* and are in italics.))**

**Author Edit: I totally forgot to credit the title.. Everyone should listen to it.. Title is the song "23" by Jimmy Eat World! yes yes, give a listen... OTH music = my life... I love that they use bands that I listen to. Hah!**

**Chapter 2: 23**

Running, dribbling, running, layups, running, passing, running, lifting weights, dribbling WHILE running... ((Did I mention running?)) Oh this was the practice from hell, that was for sure. Why were they practicing so hard on their fourth day? It wasn't like the first game was tomorrow night. The first game wasn't for another week. Nathan was exhausted. Half the team had already run so hard they were puking. It was too much for the boys who hadn't been practicing all summer and even though Nathan had, it still was too much. Whitey was really riding them this year. Whitey Durham had coached the Tree Hill Ravens for more years than any of them could count. He had coached Dan back when he was in high school and that made him ancient in most of the boys' eyes.

Lucas Scott had showed himself to actually have some basketball skills. Nathan felt like Lucas had gotten off lucky by not having to live with Dan but at the same time, he was glad that his father hadn't had anything to do with him. Maybe it was Lucas' ass-like tendencies or maybe it was that the sight of him made Dan turn up his nose, but no matter the reason, Nathan had a bad feeling about Lucas being on the team this year. Especially after watching him the last few days at practice. He was afraid his captain status would be tested and that maybe he'd be a, don't choke, co-captain... _ugh, hell no.._ ...by the middle of the season. But really, where'd he get off not showing up for practice the first day? Did he think he was above practicing with the team at every single practice? Whitey would have made any of the other guys run drills until they passed out if they missed a practice. But not Lucas. No, Lucas got off, pardon the expression, Scott-free. Why was that?

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_Whitey sat in his dimly lit office, sipping coffee and reading the game schedule for the season. He didn't even notice that Lucas Scott was standing in the doorway until the old man heard him clear his throat. Not taking an eye off the schedule he said, "Come in."_

_Lucas walked through the door. "Coach Durham?" he said, barely above a whisper, unsure if he was disturbing him._

"_Speak up, boy. I can't hear ya if you mumble." he said, still not looking up._

"_Coach Durham, I'm Lucas. Lucas Scott." he said, somewhat nervously._

"_I know who you are. What I don't know is, what do you want?" Whitey asked._

"_Well, I know that I missed tryouts the other day, but I was wondering if there would be any way to maybe go out for the basketball team...?I'll work harder than any of the guys you have on the team now." he said._

_Whitey laid the schedule down on his desk and removed his glasses from his face. He took one more sip of coffee and then looked at Lucas. "Your uncle Keith came and talked to me about you trying out. Go on home and get changed. I want you back here at 7:30 sharp. You'll have a private tryout. I'll let you know whether or not I think you're capable of handling being a Raven as soon as we're done. If you are, you best expect to be at every single practice. Ravens don't miss games or practices. When you get home, tell Keith that I said he's more than welcome to come watch the fun." And with that, he replaced his glasses on his face, picked his coffee mug and the schedule back up and turned his chair sideways._

_Lucas was stunned. What had just happened? He and Keith had only talked about basketball the night before at dinner. How had he talked to Whitey that fast and convinced him to let Lucas tryout?_

_Whitey turned his head to see Lucas still standing behind the club chair. Looking over the top of his glasses he said, "Well, son, what are you waiting for? It's 5:30 now. You only have two hours. Hurry on home."_

"_Yes sir. I'll be sure to let Keith know and I'll see you at 7:30." Lucas answered._

"_Sharp," said Whitey, turning his attention back to the paper in his hand. _

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Next thing Nathan knew, he and Lucas were paired in weight lifting. Nathan chose to spot Lucas first. He wanted to size him up, see if he could handle spotting for him later. Lucas seemed so much smaller than Nathan. It was a wonder to him that they were actually blood related. Brothers. Nathan shuddered at the thought.

As Lucas began bench pressing, he asked Nathan, "So, you're the captain, huh?"

Nathan said, "yeah, man. Have been with every team since I started. My Da-..." he stopped himself. Mentioning their shared father probably wasn't the smart idea right now and Nathan really didn't want a fight on his hands. "...Whitey rides my ass. He expects a lot out of me." he finished.

Lucas let out a breath as he lifted the bar back to it's rightful place. "Yeah well, we'll see who's captain by then end of the season." He sat up. "I plan on taking that title." And with that, he was up and gone.

Nathan stood there, stunned. For one, he'd just lost his spotter and for two, Lucas really just told him that he was going to run him out of his spot as captain. What the hell was going on here? The rest of practice, Nathan stayed as far away from Lucas as he could. It wasn't until they were leaving the locker room that he had to truly encounter him again.

Lucas had taken to Jake Jagielski, a forward for the Ravens. They had talked at every practice so far and Nathan had even spotted them eating lunch together one day. So hearing them talk today was nothing new. But the subject of their conversation had Nathan's blood boiling.

"So who's that little brunette Nathan's always with?" Lucas asked Jake.

Jake looked at him oddly. "Got a thing for her, Luke?" he asked.

Lucas let out a hearty laugh. "I'm asking who she is, man."

"Her name's Haley. You'll see her again in a minute." he said as they walked out of the locker room. Neither of them knew that Nathan was right behind them.

Stepping onto the court, Lucas saw Haley standing in the doorway, waiting for Nathan just like she did every day. He hit Jake's arm, "There she is. Mm, look at that ass, dude." Lucas bit his bottom lip. "I'd do all kinds of things to her... she'd leave Nathan alone, that's for sure."

Nathan was ready to kill him. Screw basketball, there was NO way that Lucas was about to move in on Haley. He wouldn't let that one happen. He pushed his way in between the two of them, making sure to run his shoulder quite forcefully into Lucas.

"Hey man! Watch it!" Lucas shouted.

Nathan looked over his shoulder at Lucas as he walked to Haley. _Fuck you, dude. I won't put up with your bullshit._ But he kept silent. As he reached Haley, he hugged her. She hugged back and asked him quietly if everything was alright. He simply nodded. "Let's get outta here. I'm done with this shit for the day."

As they walked to the cafe for Haley's shift, she kept prodding Nathan about what was wrong with him. When he got aggravated enough, he turned to her and almost yelled at her to drop it. Haley crossed her arms over her chest, unconsciously guarding her heart. Nathan had never spoken to her so harshly and she was used to him telling her everything without her having to dig for it. Something bad must have happened at practice, she deduced. _Maybe he and Lucas got into it. Or Dan found out Lucas is on the team and he's been normal ass-like Dan and made Nathan all high-strung. Ughh, dammit. _After a little while of silence, Haley changed the subject.

"So, I really need another extra curricular for this year."she said nervously. "And since I don't have a whole lot of free time what with morning and afternoon shifts at the cafe..." she sighed. "But I'm at every game anyway and I cheer louder than anyone, so why not put on a uniform and get something else for my college applications..." she trailed off.

Nathan cocked his head to the side, "Haley, what are you talking about? You're doing that rambling thing again."

"Cheer leading. I need an extra curricular for the year and cheer leading is the only thing that I can think I would have time for. I volunteer at the tutor center, I work, then there's school and homework and family and you and everything else.. Since I'm at all the games anyway, I might as well cheer lead." she said. _And for sure get to spend even more time with you. Maybe you'll finally see me as something more than a friend. There's so many reasons I'm doing this, Nathan, I just can't tell you..._

Nathan was shocked. This was so unlike Haley to be this willing to be a... a _cheerleader_... It was odd to him. _But Haley in a cheer uniform...Mmm... Yeah, I'm so gunna support this idea!_ Haley pulled him from his thoughts.

"So what do you think?" she asked.

"Well, I can't imagine that this is something you truly wanna do, but if you're gunna, I'll be behind you all the way. As always!" he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Haley smiled and lightly grabbed Nathan's wrist as they continued walking. They were just about to the cafe when Haley asked one more time what had Nathan so upset after practice.

"It's nothing, alright? Can we please, please drop it for now? It's been a long day, you have to work and I have to eat." he said.

Haley nodded. She was still worried but she wouldn't push anymore. If anyone knew Nathan, it was her and that meant that he would eventually tell her.

He was still enraged about the entire situation but having been with Haley for that short time walking her to work, his mind had eased. She made everything better. _I don't know what I'd do without you, Hales.. and I don't want anything to happen that's gunna make me find out. _

**Down at Keith Scott's garage...**

Lucas walked in the shop door, looking around for Keith. He was ready to be there, but not ready to work. Bench pressing earlier that afternoon had made his arms sore. He tried to show off in front of Nathan and lifted a lot more weight than he should have. But there was no way possible that he was going to look weak in front of his little brother. They might have only been separated by a few months, but Lucas was still the older of the two and he didn't want Nathan thinking he was weak.

"Hey son, how was practice?" Keith asked Lucas.

Lucas scoffed. "Why'd you talk me into this? Every game, every practice... I'm going to have to prove myself to Dan and to Nathan on top of having to prove myself to Whitey and everyone else."

Keith shook his head. "I didn't talk you into anything. We discussed, over dinner, the fact that you wanted to get off the River Court and play some real ball. Lucas, you need this. You have to spend time out of your room and off the River Court. I played for the Ravens and so did your father. It might as well be a Scott tradition."

"That man... is not my father." Lucas said through gritted teeth. "You know this, Dad."

"I know, son. But you also don't have to prove yourself to him." Keith said, plainly.

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_Seated across from his mother, Lucas seemed distant. Karen placed a hand on top of her husband's and shot him a look that said, "something's wrong with Lucas, talk to him." Keith leaned over and placed a light kiss on Karen's temple. She smiled. She knew he got her subtle message._

"_What's in your head, Luke?" Keith asked._

_Lucas looked up from his plate where he had pushed his food around to make a very abstract depiction of a very sad face. "Nothing really. Regret." he said solemnly._

"_What do you regret, son?" asked Karen._

_Lucas shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I regret letting Dan run my life. I regret letting Dan keep me from playing basketball. I could have and I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I love playing at the River Court but for once, I'd like to hear the crowd when I make a tough shot. I'd like to play with an actual team, not just a pickup game with 5 other guys."_

"_So you've been thinking about playing basketball? For the Ravens?" Keith asked him._

"_Yeah. I'd like to. But I just don't see how it's possible. I mean, tryouts were today and there's no way Coach Durham would let me practice with them to see what I can do if I didn't come to tryouts." Lucas said._

"_Well, Whitey and I go way back. He might be a crotchety old man, but he's got a soft spot. I'll talk to him, but only if you're really serious about this." Keith reasoned._

_Lucas nodded._

"_I'm serious, Lucas. If you're not in this, I won't even talk to him. You have to get past your resentment for Dan and Nathan both. Especially Nathan since you'd be playing alongside him. Life's too short to be worried with things that don't matter. You've had your mother and me your whole life and being upset with either of them is pointless now." he said._

"_And if you have any problems, you have to let us know. You can't keep it to yourself and brood about it in your room." Karen said as she gave him "the eye" that signified she was dead serious._

"_I know, Mom. I will. And thanks Dad. I really wanna play." Lucas said. _

"_Alright. I'll get ahold of Whitey after dinner. Now, stop playing with your food and eat." said Keith._

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Lucas was pulled from his memories when Keith changed the subject.

"Have you got homework?" he asked Lucas.

"Yeah, just Bio and Lit." he answered.

Keith sat his tools down on the ground and popped open the hood of a '97 Camaro SS. "Go to the office and get it done, then come help me out. While you're in there, make a couple phone calls. There's two cars in here that have been done since yesterday and no one's come to pick 'em up. I need the space."

Lucas nodded and headed to the office. He smiled to himself. Keith Scott was his father for all intents and purposes and for that, he was thankful. He couldn't have asked for better.

_You might have neglected me my whole life, Dan, but I'm better off. And I'll show you just how great I'm doing without you..._


	3. King of Anything

**A/N: So! I know you're all probably WAY past ready for this to be out and I'm sorry for the delay.. but Happy belated Thanksgiving and that should explain some of why I've not written! soo, in keeping with tradition, read, review and all that jazz.. Things are going to get more interesting in the third installment of Lovers and Friends.. Last chapter was a little insight into Lucas and revealed that Keith and Karen are married. Also, it set the stage for Haley's cheerleading endeavor. Oh how things are about to get sticky. Anyway, enough with the recapping, on to the show! This chapter is gunna give insight into Haley. I know, character by character chapters can get a bit annoying, but you'll learn a lot about Brooke too.. plus some interesting Haley/Lucas interaction! And MORE jealous Nathan! Ahhh! ((can anyone tell I'm REALLY excited about this chapter?))**

**On a more somber note, those of you who are following my other story and know that I was pregnant, over the weekend, I miscarried. This would have been out by now if not for that. I've been in a pretty dark place and if my writing on the next chapter of Nathan Scott, HCM reflects that, please feel free to flame the mess out of me and let me know to go on a short writing hiatus. I plan on getting started on it either tonight or tomorrow night. My wonderful husband took the entire week off work and we're spending the days staying as busy as possible. And while he can sleep at night I, on the other hand, can't. So yeah... on to the chapter.**

**Sidenote: I don't own anything!**

**Chapter 3: King of Anything**

It was the day of the tryouts and Brooke Davis was feeling uneasy about adding people to her squad. She had been cheer captain in junior high and since she had taken the junior high squad to Nationals, she was ushered into high school cheerleading in that same spot. This was a first at Tree Hill High; having a sophomore for a cheer captain. Brooke was determined not to let any one down. And of course, she was determined to take her squad to Nationals and win.

Brooke had seen 15 girls already and only two or three of them seemed like they knew what they were doing. She liked the idea of having a challenge and this would most definitely prove to be a challenging year. She just needed to find one more sophomore to complete her squad and the only name left on her list was...

"Haley James?" She yelled. No answer. She stood up and looked around the gym. She saw a couple of basketball players but no girls anywhere. "Haley?" She yelled again. Still nothing. As she sat back down and picked up her pen to cross the name off her list she heard a girl talking. Well, protesting, really. It sounded like she was being forced into the gym. Brooke looked in the direction of the voice and saw Nathan Scott standing in the doorway, pleading with someone she couldn't see.

"Haley, come on! Remember, you need that other extra curricular. For college. It was important to you yesterday, what's the deal today? You don't back out of anything... ever.." Nathan said.

Haley was struggling to break free from Nathan's hold on her arms. "I know, but I just don't think this is the way to go about it. I mean, I'm not popular, I'm just Haley. I'm a tutor! Not a cheerleader!" She argued.

"Ughh! You can be so stubborn, Haley James!" Nathan said as he threw his hands in the air, letting Haley's arms go.

Brooke couldn't believe her eyes. Nathan Scott, captain of the Ravens, most popular guy in the whole school, was honestly standing in the doorway of the gym arguing with the biggest nerd she'd ever seen. Brooke knew Haley was a tutor and just a week into school, she was already the high school principal's pet. This could be just the challenge she was looking for. Brooke approached the two of them.

"Haley James? Is that your name?" Brooke said, looking back and forth from Haley to Nathan and back to Haley.

"Yes, Brooke, this is Haley. She's supposed to be trying out right now and she's about to." Nathan said, looking intently at Haley.

Haley bit her lip. "Ya know, if you don't have time, that's fine. I don't really have to do this. I'm sure you have plenty of other girls that you have to evaluate and there's probably plenty that are way better than I am!" she said, beginning to turn around.

Brooke threw out her arm toward Haley, "Oh no! I need one more girl and you look like the perfect one! Come on! Let's get started!" She said.

Nathan smiled one of those shit-eating grins and Haley's heart jumped to her throat.

"Now, move along, HotShot! We girls have some work to do! No boys allowed!" Brooke said as she pushed Nathan out the door. The "Hot" part was right. Nathan Scott was one fine piece of ass in Brooke's eyes. If Haley was close enough to Nathan, maybe she could help Brooke out a bit and hook a girl up! Oh yes, Haley was perfect for the spot. Even if she didn't have the moves. There hadn't been a girl yet that Brooke couldn't mold into the perfect cheerleader!

Nathan laughed, "Alright alright. I'm going!" He turned to Haley and said, "I'll be back when it's over. I'm gunna go talk to Whitey about the game next Friday." And with that, he was off, jogging toward the boys locker room.

"Haley James, huh? Hey! I'm Brooke Davis, captain of the squad!" Brooke smiled. "Are you ready to get started?" she asked.

Haley was beyond nervous. She was completely out of her comfort zone. This was not a typical Haley James afternoon. Although, she was really glad that Nathan wasn't here to watch what was surely about to be the worst moment of her life.

"Sure, I guess so." Haley said, biting her lip.

Brooke clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! Okay, I'll turn the music on and on my cue, you give me the best cheer routine you can and we'll go from there!" Brooke said as she sat down behind the table.

Haley nodded. _Oh yeah, worst moment of my life. This is going to be terrible. I can't dance for shit! Oh my God. Okay, what was that movie Nathan and I used to watch and make fun of all the cheerleaders? Bring it Home? Bring it Out? Bring it On! Yeah. _

So Haley did her best impression of the Clovers cheer routine. This included flailing her arms about, attempting, unsuccessfully, to do the splits and ending with a great, big, loud cheer; "GO CLOVERS!" Brooke tried her best not to laugh. She was definitely in for a challenge. But if this brought her closer to dating the captain of the Ravens, she was so in! As the music wound down to the end, Brooke clapped. With a huge smile on her face, she looked at Haley as though she had never seen a better routine.

"You're in! You made it! I'm not waiting til the list goes up to tell you! You're PERFECT!" Brooke said, continuing to smile.

Haley thought this girl must have been nuts. There was no way that she was watching the routine Haley had done. No way possible. _She must be desperate. _

"Really? I thought for sure I'd be out after the music started." Haley questioned.

"No no no! I mean, it'll take some time to get the hang of our routine, we're definitely not the Clovers, so you'll have to scream Ravens, but I think you're just what we need on our squad! I'll be more than willing to help you out with any extra practice!" Brooke ran around the table to hug Haley. "What do you usually do after school?" she asked. _Please tell me it has to do with your totally platonic relationship with Nathan Scott!_

Haley shrugged her shoulders. "Some days I'm at the tutor center, I work there. Other days I'm working at Karen's Cafe. And most every day, I just hang out with Nathan Scott." Haley hoped that name-dropping would help her gain a little leverage in this whole crazy cheerleading thing. Everyone knew Nathan and he was popular but just because she was his best friend, that didn't mean that she was.

"Oh! Well that's cool!" Brooke said, enthusiastically. Haley was beginning to notice that this girl was ALL bubbly personality. "So, you wanna cheer for Nathan, huh? Be the good, supporting girlfriend.." Brooke pried.

"Girlfriend? Hah! No.. We don't.. I mean, we're not... No. I'm not his girlfriend." Haley stammered.

Brooke's eyes lit up. Oh yeah, there was still a shot! "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or anything! I just figured, since I've seen you with him a lot around school and then you said you two hang out..." Brooke said.

"Yeah, no, not like that. We've been best friends since we were little. I've always been the nerdy one and he's the popular jock. Cheerleading will look good on my transcripts and I really want to try to quit hiding behind my books, ya know?" Haley said. She felt really comfortable talking to Brooke. She wasn't quite sure why, but she figured that Brooke's personality was just so infectious that it seemed she was warm and welcoming. Cheerleading didn't seem so bad anymore and she was really hoping that maybe she could get to know Brooke better and finally have a true friend besides Nathan.

"I get that! Ya know, I haven't always been this outgoing! My mom just stuck me in a lot of pageants and stuff when I was growing up. She never knew, but I secretly HATED getting up in front of all those people!" Brooke shuddered just thinking about it. _Bonding to the extreme! SO getting the hook up! Ah!_

Just as Haley and Brooke seemed to be sharing a moment, Nathan and some of the other guys from the team walked out of the locker room. From across the gym they heard Nathan say, "Dude, I gotta eat something! I'm starving! Let's hit the cafe."

Haley turned her head and tried her best not to look so obviously excited to see Nathan. She gave him a quick, small smile and turned back to Brooke. Nathan had caught her eye though and he shouted across the gym.

"Hales, ready to go yet or do I need to wait?"

"Coming!" she shouted back."Gotta get going! Thanks Brooke. I'll see you tomorrow?" she said.

"Yeah TutorGirl! Definitely! I think we have a couple classes together! See ya then!" she answered.

Haley had begun walking toward Nathan when she realized what Brooke had called her. "TutorGirl?" she said under her breath.

"TutorGirl, huh? Brooke must have nicknamed you. That means she likes you!" Nathan said as he placed a guiding hand on the small of Haley's back. This was her favorite part of the day; when Nathan guided her anywhere. He always felt so protective of her and never failed to put his hand in the same spot. _Protective like a big brother would be... _Haley sighed.

"That's good, I guess, since it seems like I'll be seeing a lot of her. She said that if I needed extra help with practice, she'd be willing. I'm pretty positive I'm gunna have to take her up on that offer! I suck!" Haley said, laughing.

Nathan laughed. "So I guess I'll get to spend time watching you practice now. I mean, you can't take away all my Haley time." Nathan said with a smirk. _Shit! Too much, Nate. Don't come on too strong! You're best friends and she probably doesn't even like you that way! _"And of course, it's always a plus to be able to watch the all cheerleaders practice!" He said, trying to cover his ass. Really, he was feeling kinda jealous about Haley making the squad. Now every guy in the school was going to be staring at her. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to encourage this.

"No! Absolutely not! I look like an idiot!" Haley said. She definitely didn't want Nathan to see THAT side of her. She wanted to come out of her shell and at least be able to fit in, but she knew she'd look stupid in practice until she got the hang of it. And she really didn't want Nathan there watching all the other girls. The thought sent a pang of jealousy all the way to her toes.

"Oh whatever, Hales. I'll give you the first few practices to get the hang of it, but don't be surprised when I show up to the fourth one!" he said as he lightly shoved her arm.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Great..." she said. This was definitely going to be a long week.

**Friday...**

3rd period Lit class with Mr. Thorn was the last place that Haley felt like being today. She loved school and Literature was one of her favorite subjects but after the insane amount of hours she'd spent working on cheers, the shifts at the cafe and tutoring at the tutor center, she was all but worn out. Not to mention, she was really beginning to miss Nathan. They hadn't gotten to spend as much time together as they normally did. After both their practices were over, they'd head to the cafe for Haley's shift. Nathan sometimes hung around until she was off and other nights he'd left early to lift weights with his Dad. And now she was in Lit class, alone. Nathan hadn't wanted to take literature this year and since he had the option to put it off for at least one more year, he did.

Haley walked into the classroom and sat in her usual spot. She glanced around to see who all was in class already. As she was turning her head back to the front, she caught the eye of a blonde haired boy walking in the doorway. It was Lucas Scott. She and Lucas talked at the cafe some mornings during their shift together. And even though Lucas and Nathan were brothers, they seemed to have some aversion to each other. Haley didn't quite understand Nathan's distaste for Lucas. She had figured that if anything, Nathan would be jealous that Lucas got to grow up away from Dan. Maybe that's what it was that he didn't like about Lucas. Haley had never had a negative conversation with him and he'd never been anything but sickeningly sweet to her. Who knows, maybe Nathan didn't like that Lucas was nice to Haley because he had a thing for her. Thinking about this had Haley's heart racing and she realized she had stared Lucas down all the way to his seat. Blushing, Haley quickly turned her head back to the front of the room. She wasn't sure if she liked the butterflies she was feeling in her stomach fromseeing Lucas.

As the rest of the class filed in, followed by their teacher, the bell rang. Mr. Thorn stood at the front of the class and began discussing the ins and outs of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." Haley had read this over and over since she was in the third grade. Her familiarity with the story caused her to check out a little bit and let her mind wander.

Lucas had noticed Haley checking him out as he walked in the classroom and managed to sit as close to her as was possible. He knew that today would be the day they would choose partners for their Lit project and he was determined to do whatever it took to make sure that he and Haley were partners. This was his way to get as close to Haley as possible. He knew Nathan had some sort of thing for her, even though he wouldn't admit it. Lucas definitely wanted to make sure he got in the way of that. But besides wanting to hurt Nathan, he really did think Haley had a smokin' hot body. Maybe there was more to it than just wanting to get under Nathan's skin.

Near the end of class, Mr. Thorn announced to the class that it was time to choose partners. Haley was still off in la-la-land until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head in the direction she thought the hand was coming from and met Lucas' eyes again.

"Would you be my partner?" Lucas asked. "I'd really like to be paired off with someone who knows what they're talking about. I love Shakespeare and I hate getting stuck with someone who doesn't care about the writing, ya know?"

Haley nodded her head. "I know exactly what you mean. I always get stuck doing all the work! It'd be nice to have someone who'll care about it too!" she said.

"Then it's settled! Put 'er there, partner!" Lucas said as he extended his hand to Haley.

She shook it and smiled. _How incredibly corny. And yet, that was really cute! _Haley felt kinda great about being paired with Lucas for this.

As the bell rang, Mr. Thorn called out to the class, "Project due in 3 weeks, you all have a list of what must be done. I expect equal work from both partners. Have a good weekend!"

Lucas and Haley walked out of the classroom together, laughing. And as they were rounding the corner to Haley's locker, Lucas spotted Nathan. He placed a hand on Haley's back and pulled her into a hug as he was saying bye.

"Gotta get to my locker and hit 4th period. I'm so ready to get started on this project with you. I'll call you and we can talk about a time to get together, k?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah! That's great, Luke." she said as she pulled away from his hug.

Just as Lucas walked away, Nathan reached Haley's locker. "'Luke'? He'll 'call you'? What is this jackass talking about?" Nathan asked, obviously angry.

"We have a literature project together. It's not due for three weeks, but we need to get it started. He's gotta call me so we can set a time and place to work on it. What's your problem with him, anyway? He's not been anything but nice to me." Haley said.

Nathan scoffed. "Yeah, nice. That's my problem."

"What? You have a problem with him being nice to me? I would think you'd be glad that he's nice to me and not a jerk." She said, offended.

"It's not that, Hales.. nevermind. Forget it." he said, opening his locker. He was so angry. How could Lucas be all buddy buddy with Haley after the way he had disrespected her in the locker room? Nathan figured that Lucas was only being this way in order to get into Haley's pants. And that pissed him off even more. _Oh my God... I have to make a move with Haley..._ "Hales... I need to talk to you about something." he said.

"What now, Nathan? Gunna tell me again that Lucas is an asshole but keep every reason you have for thinking it to yourself?" She said as she shuffled things around in her locker. "If you are, just save it. I don't wanna hear it."

"No, it's not even about Lucas.. " he said. _Nope, I can't let Lucas be the one to push me into doing this. And that's exactly what she'll think if I tell her now. Dammit! Ahhh, change it up!_

"Then by all means, go ahead.. tell me what it is that you have to talk to me about." Haley said with thick sarcasm.

Nathan closed his locker door and said, "I'm really proud of you for busting ass for this whole cheerleading thing. You're doing a great job."

Haley felt two inches tall. She was being a total bitch and he was being nice. Taking a few deep breaths, she relaxed her shoulders and looked up at Nathan. "Thank you, Nate... that really means a lot." she said sincerely.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief as she shut her locker door. _Yes... she bought that that was what I was going to say. Man, that was close. I gotta do this in my own time, but that time has to be soon. If not, it'll be too late and I'll hate myself. _"Let's go eat lunch. I'm starving."

Haley laughed as she swung an arm around Nathan. "You're ALWAYS starving!" she said.

"Yeah yeah..."

Haley was sure that this would be an even longer weekend. But she was bound and determined to spend time with Nathan. Maybe this would be the weekend that she told him how much she cared. She wanted to, she just had to deal with this crush she was forming for Nathan's estranged brother. What was she getting herself into?


	4. Torn

**A/N: And again, in the last chapter, I didn't credit the title. "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles. So, now, on to this chapter. This one might be a little fun! Little of Haley... Pinch of Lucas... Dash of Nathan... Some Brooke... hmmmm. Wonder what's gunna happen next... ((Just a random sidenote, I'm taking a break for about 10 minutes to go get a wireless keyboard because I can't stand writing this with my jacked up laptop keyboard! Just so that you all know how dedicated I am... and I apologize for spacing errors in the last chapter. I noticed at least one that I didn't catch... this is why I'm getting a keyboard. Bahaha!)) Anyway, new chapter title is "Torn" which is a song by Natalie Imbruglia. (Hah, had to double check my spelling on her last name, but that's right!) So, on to the chapter! Fun in store...**

**Chapter 4: Torn**

It was the third time Haley was meeting with Brooke for extra practice in cheering. She was loving it so far, but these extra practices were really cutting into her time with Nathan and her hours at the cafe. Thankfully, Karen understood about Haley's extra curriculars and her determination to get into Duke. If this helped Haley get there, she was behind her 110%. On top of all the cheering, there was tutoring and her own homework. Of course, her homework lately had included Lucas too since they were halfway through their project. Still two weeks left until it was due, this gave them the time they needed to edit and tweak it to death. Haley's perfectionism was definitely something she would have to work on. But for now, her aerials needed perfecting. She had finally mastered the splits. Thank God. That was tough to learn. Now Brooke had decided that she wanted Haley to be a flier. This meant that she would be tossed around in the air.

Haley had determined that it was her size that landed her this role. There was no way that it was her skill. But skill was definitely something that she needed in order to make it as a flier and not break her neck. This was going to take some hard work.

"So, since I wanna work you in as a flier, I really need someone to help out with this practice. I was thinking, maybe you should call Nathan and see if he'd be willing to help out a little bit. It's Thursday and practice was over hours ago." Brooke said.

Haley rolled her eyes for two reasons. One, this was the last thing that she wanted Nathan to see her doing. She felt like she was making a fool out of herself at practice and she still had this practice left before he started coming to all of them. Two, Brooke had been talking about Nathan an awful lot. Since Haley had told her that they weren't together, it seemed like half the reason Brooke wanted anything to do with Haley was so that she could get closer to Nathan. But thinking through her second reason, Haley figured that since Brooke was the captain of the cheer squad, she didn't need Haley's help to bag the captain of the basketball team. _Haley, trust people..._

"I'll call him and see what he's doing." she said as she pulled her phone out of her purse.

Meanwhile, Lucas was at the cafe helping Karen close up. He was wiping down tables as his mom counted down the register.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Haley James, son. Is there something going on with you two?" she asked Lucas.

Lucas stopped in the middle of the table and looked at her, "We're not about to have 'The Talk' are we? Cuz if we are, please stop now."

Karen laughed, "I wasn't going that far with it. I've just seen the way that you look at her around here lately."

"The way I look at her? What way do I look at her?"

"Like a little lost puppy dog, Lucas. It's rather cute, really." She said, smiling.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Mom, come on now. I'm not a puppy."

"I know you're not. You just seem taken with her. So, back to my original question; is there something going on with you two?" she asked again.

Lucas finished the table and turned to lock the door and flip the sign to closed. He sighed. "Not really. At least, I don't think so. I kind of like her. She's sweet and really genuine. I just think she's attached to Nathan." Lucas gritted his teeth.

"Nathan? I thought they were best friends?" She asked, puzzled by the new information.

"Well, they are. But something Nathan said in the locker room makes me think that he wants to be more than that. And they're always together. And she seems to think that he hung the moon. I just don't want such a sweet, innocent girl to get mixed up in the Dan Scott drama, ya know?" he reasoned.

What Karen didn't know was that while Lucas was beginning to have feelings for Haley, he had originally started out simply trying to make Nathan angry. But the more time that he was spending with Haley, the more he began to like her. He saw her for who she was. He liked that she loved the read and that she wasn't inept when it came to literature. He liked how sweet she was all the time. He watched her every shift they worked together and he saw the way that she interacted with the customers. He liked her laugh and her smile. He liked the way she smelled. Yeah, he was falling for her. Falling fast. This wasn't what he planned at all. Lucas shook the feelings off and began to think about Nathan and about how much he hated him for all the things he had that Lucas had to go without. The best way to get through this would be to dwell on the bad things and forget the good things. If Haley and Nathan were such good friends, then she was already mixed up with the Dan Scott drama and it didn't matter anymore. Let her do it. Let her go down in flames just like Nathan would. Lucas would make a move on Haley as soon as he could and then shit would hit the fan.

Karen nodded. "She's a great girl. I think you would do well to at least try." She closed the drawer to the register and walked over to Lucas. "Let's go home, son. Your Dad's waiting on us."

Back at the Tree Hill High gym, Brooke and Haley were waiting for Nathan to show. Brooke had asked again if Haley was sure she and Nathan were an item.

"I keep telling you, no. We've been best friends forever. Best friends. That's all." Haley said, getting frustrated. _Of course, I would love for it to be more than that. But that's up to Nathan, not me._

"Okay! Retract the claws! I'm just making sure! I don't want my newest and bestest friend to be upset if I maybe... well... took a shot... I've always thought Nathan was smokin' hot but he used to be such an asshole. He's changed this year. He's nicer." Brooke said.

"When was he an asshole?" Haley questioned. Nathan had never been mean to her. Ever. Well, there was the time when they were 12 and Nathan's voice cracked. Haley couldn't help but laugh and it made Nathan more embarrassed than mad. He lashed out at her about it. But that was once and only once. After that, if Nathan's voice cracked Haley kept as straight a face as possible and waited until she got home to laugh. Since she could remember, Nathan had always protected her. When she was picked on by anyone, he was her knight in shining armor, always saving her from the dragons. She figured this had something to do with why she was so in love with him now.

"He's always been an asshole! On and off the court! I dunno, maybe you're just too close to him to see it." Brooke reasoned.

"Hmm, must be. So you wanna date Nathan?" she asked.

"I'd like to," Brooke said. She felt as though she was beginning to bare her soul to Haley. This was perfect. She could relay how she felt about Nathan to Haley and then Haley could tell Nathan and hopefully give her edge. "What do you think?" she asked.

_Uh-Oh..._ This wasn't good. Brooke wanted to know her opinion on dating Nathan. This could turn ugly really fast. _Walk softly, Haley.._ If Haley went into too much detail about what she thought, Brooke might get the impression that Haley had feelings for Nathan. She didn't want anyone at all to know. No one. If she didn't go in enough detail, it might seem sketchy and Brooke could still draw that same conclusion. Oh, what's a girl to do?

"Well... If you ask me..." Haley bit her lip nervously, "I think you two would be great together. I mean, both of you are into sports-.."

Brooke stopped her there, "Oh no, I'm not really into sports. I hardly watch the games. I look at all the boys! And I don't want to do too much and end up looking terrible by the end of a game. Plus, I have to worry about what my squad's doing. I don't have much time for the actual game itself!"

Haley rolled her eyes again. "Okay. At least you know something about the game. And being a cheerleader, captain of the squad at that, you'll be at every game and be supportive of Nathan." Haley felt herself getting more and more jealous by the millisecond. She couldn't believe that she was sitting here, in the middle of the gym floor, telling Brooke that she and Nathan would be perfect for each other. Was this some sort of alternate universe that she was in? She was a cheerleader giving someone else the go-ahead to move in on the guy she loved. What the hell?

Brooke smiled widely. "I think I might just give him my number tonight! Would you put in a good word for me? Please please please, Haley! He'll listen to you! You are, after all, his BEST friend!"

Haley nodded as the jealousy grew. "Sure." she said, barely above a whisper.

Brooke jumped up off the floor and pulled Haley up with her, hugging her tightly. "Oh yay! Yay yay yay yay yay! Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I owe you BIG time!" she squealed.

Just then, Nathan walked in the gym. "Oh, my bad. Did I interrupt a moment?" he said as he walked up to Haley.

Haley sighed in relief to see him. She hadn't seen him since the end of the school day and it seemed like years. She really needed a hug from him to get the feeling of Brooke's death grip off of her. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, almost as if he was reading her mind. She melted into him, taking in his warm smell. Clean skin, her favorite. He must have just gotten out of the shower.

"Yes you did! Bad boy! Anyway, I need your help. We're gonna teach TutorGirl here how to fly!" Brooke said, perking up even more now that Nathan was here.

Haley looked at Nathan with pleading eyes. _Please, God, no..._

Nathan clapped his hands together. "Alright! Where do you want me to stand?" he asked.

After a lot of practicing, a lot of spinning through the air and a lot of falling, they were finally finished for the night. Haley didn't think she could take any more of this. She didn't want to be a flier in the first place but this confirmed it. She wasn't cut out for this. Too high up in the air, too big of a chance of falling. Nathan was super sweet to her though. He never laughed, not once. He was supportive of her, no matter what she was doing. Even when she was falling. She only hit the ground twice the entire time. Every other time, Nathan caught her. Yep, he was amazing. This made the next thing out of Brooke's mouth that much worse.

After Brooke had turned out the lights, she rejoined Nathan and Haley at the door. "HotShot, what's your number? In case I need you to help me again." she said as she cocked her head toward Haley in a not-so-subtle way.

Haley's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. This was the moment she had been waiting for since Brooke asked her what she thought about her and Nathan dating. She didn't want to be here right now. She struggled to keep the tears back as Nathan put his number in Brooke's phone. Biting her lip, she looked at her own phone to see what time it was. 9:45. Good.

"Hey Nate? Will you walk me home?" she asked, interrupting the moment. Brooke shot her a glare.

"I can drive both of you!" Brooke popped.

Haley rolled her eyes. Thankfully it was dark and Brooke couldn't see her. "I'm okay. I'll walk." she said, completely frustrated.

Nathan really wanted to spend some time with Haley. He was feeling kind of left out since she had been spending so much time with Brooke at practice and then with Lucas at the cafe and working on their project. He needed some time alone with her. He missed her. "Yeah," he said, "we'll walk. Thanks for the offer though, Brooke. We'll see you tomorrow at school!" He waved and she turned to walk to her car. She looked sad. Haley didn't care. She was so upset.

Nathan put a hand on the small of her back and guided her to the sidewalk. "What's going on, Hales? I haven't hardly talked to you lately. Or seen you. I feel like part of me is missing." he said, not caring anymore about hiding his feelings.

_So do I... You have no idea..._ "Just been really busy with that project for Mr. Thorn's class and then the extra shifts that I picked up.. Yeah, I had to let those go. Too much practice for this cheerleading shit." she said, gritting her teeth with the last part.

"Shit, huh?" Nathan laughed. "Come on, it's not all that bad, is it?" he asked.

Haley laughed sarcastically, "You're kidding, right? I'm not cut out for this I don't think."

"But you're body's perfect!" Nathan said. _Fuck!_ "For a flier, ya know, cuz you're small and light. Easy to throw." he tried to cover. _Don't think that one worked.._

"Perfect, huh? Hah. Right." she said. _Oh yeah, I caught that. Maybe I'm not crazy. Or maybe Brooke's right and he is an asshole. Maybe he wants Brooke and me at the same time...? Oh my God, yes, I'm crazy. I'm driving myself INSANE!_ "Anyway, I just think Brooke's a slavedriver sometimes. I mean, I know that she wants a perfect squad and that she wants us to go to Nationals, but seriously? We're not going to be perfect by the first game. It's just not going to happen."

"Definitely not, since the first game's tomorrow night." he said.

Haley gasped and stopped in her tracks. "Tomorrow night? You mean, I have to be in front of everyone... cheering... tomorrow night? Oh I think I'm gonna be sick tomorrow night. There's NO way... None... Whatsoever... that I am cheering... tomorrow night..." she rambled, almost hyperventilating.

Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley. He rubbed up and down on her back in an attempt to sooth her. "It's going to be fine! I'll be out there on the floor cheering you on!" he said.

"Nathan, you have to play. You have to focus! I'm supposed to be the one cheering YOU on! What the hell..." she said. She felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket. "Who's texting me this late?" she asked of no one in particular.

"Probably your mom. I'm sure she's worried since you're still not home." he answered her.

Opening the message she saw it was from Lucas.

"G'night Sweet Girl. C U tmrw in Lit. B rdy. Hrd there's a quiz.

-Lucas"

She closed the message quickly as she noticed Nathan trying to read it. Her heart raced. Lucas text her to tell her goodnight. That meant he was thinking about her. Suddenly, she got butterflies and she couldn't make them stop. _No no no... You're here with Nathan... and you're alone... with Nathan! Stop it, Haley James! You love him!_

"Sweet Girl?" he asked, feeling the anger building up. "Who was that?" _Why didn't I take Lit this year? What the hell was I thinking letting her take any classes without me?_

Haley didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie to him but she didn't want to tell him that it was Lucas. Oh this was not a good position to be in. She looked up and noticed that she was a few houses down from hers. This was her chance to make a quick getaway.

"Oh, it was just Lucas. Telling me that we had a quiz in Lit tomorrow. That's it. Nothing special." she said quickly. "Well! We're almost to my house so... thank you for walking me home. Get some good sleep tonight so you'll be ready for the game tomorrow!" she was in such a rush she didn't realize what she was about to do. She hugged him tight and whispered as she pulled away, "I love you, Nathan..." _Oh my God... Did I...? I did... Holy shit..._ She looked up at him and her eyes widened as she saw the confusion on his face. _Run, Haley... Run..._ "Um... Bye..." She said as she turned and half ran to her front door. _Please be open... Please..._ And it was. Thankfully. This was all she could take tonight.

She ran up the stairs, disregarding the fact that her parents were in the living room. Once in her room, she fell on the bed, laughing. "I did it!" she whispered loudly. _Definitely crazy... _She rolled over and turned her stereo on.

"_...Nothing's right, I'm torn._

_I'm all outta faith_

_This is how I feel_

_I'm and I am shamed_

_Lying naked on the floor..._

_Illusion never changed_

_Into something real_

_I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn_

_You're a little late_

_I'm already torn..."_

**A/N: Good, Bad, In-Between? Whatever the feelings, leave em in a review! Thanks guys! **


	5. Feel This

**A/N: I'm struggling with this chapter. So bare with me. I'll still have it out by the end of this week (if that's Sunday, I'm sorry) I know what I want to see out of this chapter but writing it is taking more time that I expected it to. Plus, at the moment I'm rather hungry (and have heartburn) so my head's not in the game. Anyway, enough of the random, on to the chapter. Chapter title is a song by, none other than, my personal favorite female singer, Bethany Joy Galeotti... I love this song.. and it kinda really fits... on to chapter 5...**

**Chapter 5: Feel This**

_Ring... Ring...Ring..._

Haley barely opened her eyes and reached for her phone. She didn't even look to see who was calling her. For that matter, she never even said hello. She simply answered and placed it to her ear.

"Good morning, Sweet Girl. Are you coming to work this morning or do I need to wait your tables?" she heard Lucas ask.

_SHIT!_ "What time is it?" she asked quickly.

Lucas chuckled. He noticed that Haley sounded kinda cute when she first woke up. "Well, put it this way, three of our regulars have been here, had their coffee and read their daily newspapers. Only one of them is still here." he said.

"SHIT!" she yelled.

"_Haley..." _she heard her mother say from outside her door.

Lucas laughed now. "Don't worry, just get ready for school. I'll cover for you."

Haley let out a huge breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

_Luke, huh? She's calling me by a nick name now. Oh, I'm so in there. _"You're welcome. See you in Lit, Sweet Girl." he said.

"See you then. Bye." she said, hanging up the phone. _Unbelievable. I NEVER oversleep. _She got out of bed, closed her Literature book and folder and threw them in her book bag. Walking to her closet, she grabbed a pair of jeans off the dresser. Her phone went off again, this time telling her she had a text.

"TutorGirl, dnt 4get: Game day = cheer uniforms. Wear urs 2day! C U n class! -B. Davis"

_Great. _Haley threw her jeans in her closet floor and grabbed her uniform from the rod. Taking it out of the bag, her heart jumped into her throat. She remembered what had happened last night when Nathan walked her home. _Oh my God! I told him I loved him! Oh my God! I can't go to school today. _And just that fast, her thoughts flew to Lucas. He had text her and called her Sweet Girl and then this morning called her the same thing. There was no doubt, she found Lucas entirely too attractive. They had some sort of chemistry between them. Haley enjoyed the adventure of someone new, the thought that someone might actually be interested in her and wasn't afraid to say it.

Suddenly she was pulled from all thoughts by a knock on the front door and her mother yelling from her bathroom. "Haley, could you get that? I'm up to eyebrows in soap scum! Thank you, dear!"

Haley opened the door, half dressed in her uniform and half still dressed for bed. "Nathan? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Thank God, you're okay." he said.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, confused.

Nathan looked sheepish. "I went to the cafe for breakfast and well, to see you so we could talk before school and you weren't there. I didn't ask where you were, I just figured that if you hadn't shown up for work that something must be wrong. So I came here to make sure you weren't sick or that you were actually here, ya know, something could have happened to you on the way to work and no one know about it. I just got worried, I guess. But I see you overslept"

Haley laughed at his rambling. "Nate, it's okay. I'm fine. Thanks for being worried though. You're a total goof, but thanks. Yeah, I never do that! I don't know what got into me." Her smile grew wider as she realized Nathan was dressed for game day. White button down shirt, khakis and a Ravens blue and black tie. He was gorgeous. First game day of the season and Haley was getting to admire the star of the team in her own home. "You wanna come in for a minute? We can walk to school together and talk about whatever it is you wanna talk about." she breathed.

Nathan's heart raced. "Yeah. Yeah, sounds good." He said as he walked through the door. He followed her to her bedroom and watched her walk into her closet to finish getting dressed. He sat down on her bed and turned his head to give her even more privacy. He was NOT about to tell her that he felt the same way she did while she was undressing. That would ruin it all. But he was determined that today was going to be the day they would talk about this. He was tired of hiding it and he was afraid if he waited any longer, someone was going to steal her from him. He loved her and wasn't going to stop. He just wanted her to know it.

She walked out of the closet, fully dressed in her uniform, just missing her shoes which she carried in her hand. She sat them down on the floor next to Nathan's feet and grabbed her hairbrush from her dresser. "So, do you know why we have to get all dressed up like this for school on game day? I mean, I understand why Whitey wants you guys to look good, but why us?" she asked, making idle chit chat but of course, really wanting to know. She felt awkward with Nathan sitting there after what she had said to him last night. But he was her best friend and for now, she needed to stick to that.

Nathan laughed. She looked beautiful in her uniform. Nothing like any of the other cheerleaders. He could stare at her all day. Actually, he was starting to stare now and had forgotten for a moment that Haley had asked him a question. "Oh, um, it's not Coach's thing. Brooke's the one that made that decision. She says that if the girls are showing school spirit, it helps pump us up for the game. Really I think she just wants to be able to walk around school in a short skirt and not get in trouble." he laughed.

"Hmm. Hey, speaking of Brooke, what do you think about her?" Haley asked as she finished packing up her book bag. They still had some time before they had to leave for school and she wanted an answer.

_Brooke? Are you serious? Please, Hales, tell me you're kidding. You don't honestly think that I have feelings for Brooke.. There's no way. Never. I mean, she's attractive and all that, but there's gotta be more than that and Brooke's too... she's just... she's not you, Haley. _Or at least, that's what he was thinking. He wouldn't say it out loud. He wanted to but he couldn't make himself do it. But he had to answer her. "She's cool, I guess." he finally said.

Haley's heart filled with joy. She felt bad for Brooke but Nathan's nonchalance gave her the feeling that there was no competition. She was elated and she couldn't hide it. She smiled widely. "Well, you know she kinda has a huge thing for you." she said.

"Kinda and huge in the same sentence doesn't work. Thought you tutored kids in English too?" he joked.

"Hah, hah, hah." she mocked as she tied her shoe and stood to grab her book bag. "Anyway, let's go. We're gonna be late if we don't get a move on." she said, slapping his leg.

Nathan was so confused. Haley had told him that she loved him the night before and this morning it seemed like he was back in the friend zone. Maybe she slipped up. Maybe she didn't mean it the way he felt it. Who knew? But he wasn't going to waste any time on the way to school. They walked out the door and headed to Tree Hill High, talking about the game and the cheers Haley had learned. And just as Haley thought they were going to make it to school and avoid the subject of last night...

"I think we need to talk about something that happened last night, Hales." Nathan said.

_Of course not... Of all the things for him to remember, he WOULD remember to talk to me about this..._ "About what?" she asked.

"Haley, don't play dumb. I know better."

"You mean about you telling me I had a perfect body? For flying, of course."

Nathan felt his face get hot. He hoped he hadn't blushed. No one could make him blush but Haley. "So not what I was talking about."

"Hmm. Then what?"

Nathan half-growled and stopped dead in his tracks. He threw his hands in the air. "Haley, you told me you loved me!" he blurted out.

Now Haley was the one worrying about blushing. She knew as soon as he said it, her face must have turned 7 different shades of red. Nathan saw it. He didn't want to embarrass her but he couldn't stand it anymore. He wanted to know if she meant it or not. He was tired of not knowing and had waited two years to tell her how he felt. He couldn't stand it anymore. Nathan watched her as she bit her bottom lip. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning, trying to figure out how to put it into words to let him down the easiest. "Well, give it to me straight. Did you mean it or not?"

"Nathan, I-..."

"Tutor Girl! Come on! We're gonna be late to first period! Let's go! Get a move on!" Brooke yelled from across campus.

Nathan threw his head back in frustration. _I'm never going to get an answer. I'll never get a chance to tell her how I feel. I gotta do it now._

"We gotta go. She's right, We're gonna be late and I can't be late again to-..."

"I love you too, Haley. And I mean that. Take it for what it's worth, but when you told me last night that you loved me, that was the best thing I'd heard in years. And you ran off so fast, I didn't get to tell you that I love you too." he interrupted her. It was heartfelt. It wasn't all he wanted to say but he didn't have much time. He just had to get it off his chest.

"Nathan, we have to get to class." she said, trying to avoid this again. She was so confused. She loved Nathan, but there went Lucas walking by. "Come on. We'll talk about this later."

_She didn't mean it..._

All during 1st period, Haley wouldn't even so much as look in Nathan's direction. She sat on the other side of the class, next to Brooke. Brooke was passing notes to Haley asking if she had put in a good word with Nathan for her. Haley told her that she hadn't had a chance to yet but some things were making it complicated. Brooke asked what and Haley changed the subject to the game tonight. Thankfully, this had Brooke sidetracked. But Haley was afraid it wouldn't last long. Then the bell rang. Nathan tried to walk out the door with Haley. 

"Hales, can we please talk?" he begged.

"We gotta get to 2nd period. We'll talk at lunch."

"You can't avoid me forever you know," he said as he pulled a book from his locker, "some time today we're talking about this."

Haley just nodded her head and closed her locker. "Come on. Let's go."

Nathan was getting worried. Haley told him she loved him, now she's avoiding it. And 3rd period for her was Literature... with Lucas. That text that she got last night... maybe that's what it was that was holding her back. Lucas. This is what he had been afraid of. They didn't speak after 2nd. Nathan wanted to give her some space. All he could think about was talking to her about his feelings for her. He was sick of hiding. _Guess I'll just have to wait til lunch..._

In 3rd period Literature, Haley and Lucas were sitting together, discussing their project in the allotted time frame Mr. Thorn had given them.

"You seem kinda out of it, Haley. Are you still not awake?"

"I am SO sorry, Lucas. I didn't mean to oversleep. Thanks for covering for me! I really appreciate it!"

"Oh, it's no problem. Mom wasn't upset about it, just worried something had happened to you on the way to work. Everybody has to sleep sometime," he laughed.

Haley chuckled a little bit. Her head was so far off right now. She had less than an hour to give Nathan some sort of response to his proclamation from this morning. She wanted to meet him outside class with open arms. She wanted to kiss him and tell him that she meant what she had said the night before. She wanted to stop hiding it because it hurt too much to keep it in. She wante-...

"So, since we have all this worked out and we're halfway done with our project... can I talk to you about something?" Lucas asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She responded by nodding her head.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, Luke. What is it? Everything okay?" she asked him with a worried expression.

Lucas smiled softly, "Everything's fine. Well, that is, as long as you answer my question right."

"What's the question?"

Lucas shuffled his feet and shifted in his seat. He was nervous. He had never expected to actually develop feelings for Nathan's best friend. He had only wanted to make Nathan mad. But his heart got tangled up in this too and now he didn't know what else to do. He had to go for it.

"Well, I know we don't know each other as well as I'd like to. And I'm hoping to change that. I want to get to know you better, Haley. What I do know about you, I like. Very much. Would you... maybe... go out with me sometime?" he asked. He'd never been this nervous. He couldn't shake it.

Haley was taken aback. She thought it was possible that Lucas had feelings for her. But two guys confessing their feelings in one day? What the hell was going on here? Was she in some alternate dimension? Oh this was NOT a choice she wanted to have to make. What was she supposed to say? She LOVED Nathan. She barely knew Lucas. They were brothers. _Oh MY God! They're BROTHERS!_ She nearly screamed her thoughts out loud. Her eyes widened even more at the realization. She couldn't say yes to Lucas. She was in love with Nathan. She would remind him of that at lunch. For now, she had to let Lucas down easily. The game was tonight and the last thing in the world that Haley wanted was to put the two brothers at war on the court. But this was how it had to be. She couldn't keep Nathan waiting any longer and she couldn't tell Lucas yes.

"Luke, I..."

"Alright class! That's enough talking!" Mr. Thorn said over the loud classroom. When no one stopped talking, he yelled, "ATTENTION! Eyes forward! Mouths SHUT!"

_Dammit... I gotta know..._ Lucas took out a piece of notebook paper and wrote, "Well?" and passed it to Haley. She opened it and wrote back, "I can't, Lucas. I just have too much going on in my life right now. I'm sorry. Maybe when things slow down a bit." She passed it back to him as Mr. Thorn was thumbing through his handbook. She didn't want to get caught. She watched as Lucas read and his face fell.

_So much for caring. Nathan definitely has a good hold on that girl's heart. And I intend to break it._

Haley mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," but it didn't seem to make a difference. His face was still sullen as he mouthed back, "It's okay. I understand." She knew he couldn't possibly because there was no way that he knew how she felt about Nathan. No one did.

Lucas had switched right back into asshole mode and was bound and determined to do whatever it took to steal Haley's heart away from Nathan. There was so many ideas rolling around in his head. He heard Mr. Thorn begin to dismiss the class but he had completely missed the bell. He slowly gathered his things and helped Haley gather hers. He walked out of class with her and, of course, saw Nathan. He gave him a smug look, as though he had won something and he hugged Haley bye.

Haley was confused. But she forgot all about it when she saw Nathan. He walked up to her and didn't even mention Lucas' hug. He just placed a hand on the small of her back and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Let's go someplace quiet. We really have to talk." She nodded her head and smiled. This was it.

**A/N: As promised, it is the end of the week and here's the next chapter. My husband and I are taking care of his godson for a little while ((a 3 year old)) and he's completely wearing me out! BUT! Here's this chapter.. and be looking for a new chapter of Best Days either tonight as well or tomorrow night. I can't sleep well tonight so I'm hoping to get at least half of it done!**


	6. We Belong

**A/N: Okay, here's what everybody's been waiting for! The "talk" between Haley and Nathan about... **gasp... **FEELINGS! They've both already used "the L word" and now is the time to discuss where they go from here... how well does THIS talk go? Ready to find out? Chapter title is an Everly song (a Pat Benatar cover, actually..).. I've been listening to them a LOT.. lol. You should too! Read on, don't forget to review.. I don't own anything.. all that jazz..**

**..**

**..**

**We Belong**

Nathan and Haley had gotten away from everyone, as far as they could without leaving campus. They were sitting under the shade trees on the edge of the campus, all the way across the quad. Now was the time to talk. They were both silent. Neither really knew where to start.

"I, uh-.." they both said, simultaneously.

Nathan chuckled. "You go ahead."

"No, you go."

"Haley, please. You start. You're better with words than I am."

Haley scoffed. "...Normally.. But right now, I'm kinda... struggling."

"Well, then I guess I just need to ask you a question. And you can answer it. Don't be afraid to answer honestly, 'kay?" Haley nodded in response. "Alright. I meant what I said before school this morning. How do you feel about that?"

Haley felt as though she needed a couch to lay down on. _How do I feel? I LOVE it! I'm ecstatic! I want to make it official, I want to tell everyone! _"Good." _Haley, you're a fucking idiot. _

Nathan wasn't quite sure how to take her response. It was simple, straightforward and to the point, he guessed. But it was also one word. "_Good._" What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean that she loved him too? Did it mean that she understood that he was madly in love with her but that she didn't feel the same way? Did it mean that she wanted to let him down easy? This was killing him. "Good?" he asked.

"I told you, struggling."

Nathan laughed. She was just nervous. "Okay, then maybe I can make it a little easier. Yes or no question. Do you feel the same way?"

Haley shifted in her spot on the grass. She wanted to scream and cry and jump in Nathan's arms and tell him that she was more in love with him than she could ever say. But words eluded her and she was suddenly plastered in her spot. She hung her head. "Yes," she whispered.

Nathan almost came unglued. He could barely hear her but he was pretty positive that she had said yes. Before he could do or say anything he had to be sure. "Yes?" he asked her.

Haley raised her head to look him in the eyes. "Yes, Nathan," she said in her normal tone. "I love you. I've loved you for a long time now. You're my best friend in the entire world but I want more than that with you." Nathan's eyes widened and he relaxed his shoulders as he continued to listen to her. "Ya know, I really suck at cheerleading... and I have all the extracurricular activities I need to graduate high school already... But I wanted to be close to you more. I wanted to do more than just sit in the stands and cheer you on. I wanted you to know that I really do support your dreams. That's why I went out for the squad."

Nathan looked at Haley with so much love in his eyes that it made her blush. _Wow... She went out of her way to make sure that I knew she cared that much... and I didn't see it that way... Damn._ He was wrapped up in her beauty and the things she had just told him. It wasn't until she spoke his name again that he snapped out of it.

"Nathan? See, I knew this was a bad idea. Now we're not even going to be able to be best friends like we always have been." Haley began to get up.

"No no no!" Nathan said as he reached for her arm. "It's not a bad idea! I swear. I'm sorry, I just got lost for a second. Do you have any idea how long I've waited to hear you say that you wanted to be more than just friends with me? When you told me last night that you loved me, I was so shocked I couldn't say anything." As he remembered what happened, he smiled. He looked into Haley's eyes and pulled her toward him. "I went home thinking about it but that text you had gotten from Lucas really made me think that you were into him. The whole thing had me going crazy! I spent half the night at the River Court trying to figure out what to do or what to say." He took her hands in his and gave them a small squeeze. She shifted in her spot but her eyes never left Nathan's. This was amazing to her. She bit her lip as he continued, "I wanted to come talk to you. I even walked to your house at 3. But I wasn't about to wake you up. Never a good idea."

Haley was blushing as she laughed at the thought of Nathan waking her up once when they were in Junior High. She had all but punched him when he had jumped on her bed to wake her. He was just trying to be playful but she was pissed and she let him know it. She spent the first 30 minutes of her morning biting his head off about never waking her up again. She had to have her wake up time. And now here they were. She had waited forever to hear Nathan say that he loved her. He had already said it once today and he was about to say it again. Her heart was racing and her mind was spinning. _He really, honestly loves me. He knows me like the back of my hand. Why would I ever think this was a bad idea? _

"So I went the cafe this morning to talk to you about everything and when you weren't there my head automatically went to the worst possible things that could have happened to you. I freaked out. That's why I was all weird this morning. I wanted to tell you right there, on your doorstep, that I loved you. I love you, Haley James. I always have. I always will," he confessed.

She sighed contentedly. This is what she was waiting for. All this time. She was so excited that she sort of forgot herself and jumped into his arms. She hugged him tight and they both smiled. Without thinking, she grabbed his tie and pulled his face close to hers then kissed that gorgeous smile of his. He instantly kissed her back. He held on tight to her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. It was so hard for Nathan to keep his hands off her ass. Come on, it was right there! That short little cheer skirt. He was a man, after all. Albeit, a Sophomore; he was at least of the male gender. Their lips parted and Haley breathed, "I love you, Nathan." He smiled again and crashed his lips into hers. She kissed back with a passion and eagerness Nathan had never felt before from anyone. The moment was sweet and Haley savor every tiny millisecond. At least, until...

"Haley! Where are you?" Brooke yelled across the quad. After lunch, Haley and Brooke planned to meet up for a short reminder practice so Haley would be ready for the game that night. Brooke felt like she was going out of her way for Haley all this time. She had taken on the challenge of teaching Haley all that she could in such a short time. She had missed golden opportunities to party and have a blast in order to make Haley ready. And here she was, taking 15 minutes off her lunch break to make sure, yet again, that Haley was ready. But Haley was no where to be found. "Haley!" she nearly screamed. She had been in and out of classrooms, the tutor center, the cafeteria, the library (that's where some nerdy girl would hang out, right? The library? Made sense to Brooke). Nothing. She had looked everywhere in the parking lot. Still no Haley. Now she was searching the quad. Then all of a sudden she spotted a cheer uniform near the trees on the edge of campus. Whichever member of her squad it was, she sure was getting hot and heavy making out with one of the basketball players. "Haley?" As she walked closer to the couple, they separated. When the cheerleader set her feet back on the ground and looked up the player, Brooke saw exactly who they were. "Nathan! Haley!"

Haley and Nathan both jumped back. Sweet, intimate moment ruined. Brooke and her impeccable timing. Haley straightened out her skirt and Nathan adjusted his tie. Brooke came running up to the two of them.

"Haley, what the hell? You were supposed to meet me 10 minutes ago for practice! Now I catch you out here, sneaking around almost off campus, shoving your tongue down Nathan's throat?"

Haley was appalled. Her jaw dropped and she gasped loudly. "Brooke!"

Nathan laughed. He couldn't help himself. He might have just gotten caught kissing Haley but it didn't take away the fact that they had finally told each other how they felt. He was happy and there was nothing, not even Hurricane Brooke Davis, that could change it. Of course, his laughing noticeably pissed Haley off. She was embarrassed that they had been caught. She felt that something like what they had just shared should have been private. Besides the fact that the first game was tonight and she really needed Nathan's head in the game (not wrapped up in this whole thing and making sure everyone knew about it), she really didn't want to piss Lucas off. Not yet. She wanted it all to stay a secret until the game was over. The first game was important for the entire time since it would set the tone for the rest of the season. Haley's thoughts were everywhere. And now Brooke knew. _Oh Brooke... No... Poor Brooke..._ Haley finally realized; the guy she was kissing was the guy Brooke had been obsessing about lately. _Dammit. Brooke would be the ONLY one to notice that we were here._

"Thanks Haley. I see your mouth was too busy to put in a good word. I thought we were friends!" Brooke turned on her heels and headed back across the quad. She felt betrayed. She had honestly thought that she might be able to be friends with Haley. She had confided in her about a lot of things, Nathan being one of them. Now here Haley was, sneaking around with the guy SHE liked. _I must have some sign on my back that says "insert knife here." _

"Brooke...Wait a min-..." Nathan called after her.

"Save it, HotShot! Too late." Brooke kept walking until Nathan and Haley could no longer see her.

"Nate, this is bad. She's pissed at me. And now she's gonna tell everybody!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Nathan was starting to get worried. Haley said that she loved him, but now she wanted to hide it. Was she unsure? Did she just say it because he did and she didn't want to ruin anything? Now it seemed like she was trying to take it all back.

"No, Nate. I just want to keep it quiet until the game's over."

"I can't tell my team that the girl I'm in love with finally told me she loves me too?"

Haley bit her lip and shifted her feet. "Class is about to start. Let's get headed that way and I'll explain."

As Nathan and Haley walked across the quad and toward their classrooms, She told him that she just wanted both his and Lucas' heads in the game tonight. When Nathan asked why she cared about where Lucas' head was, Haley told him all about what happened in 3rd period with Lucas. She explained that while they've been working on their Lit project together, she's noticed that Lucas was starting to act a little different around her. And then today, he asked her out. He told her he had feelings for her, deep ones. Haley told Nathan, word for word, what she said back to his confession. "You can ask him! He'll tell you," she said.

Nathan scoffed. "Lucas'll tell me that he has sex with you or something. You don't understand, Haley. You have no idea the kinds of things he's said about you in the locker room. I just about kicked his ass the last time he said anything at all."

Haley gasped. "No way! So what in the world did he asked me out for?"

Nathan shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe because he knew it would piss me off if he did."

"So are you saying, it wasn't because he actually liked me? He just wanted to get to you?" Haley questioned. She wanted to believe that Lucas was a lot better guy than that but what Nathan was saying sounded like it was very possible.

"Who wouldn't like you, Hales? You're gorgeous. You're perfect. Whatever his reason for it, there's gotta be feelings for you behind it. Anyway, all that matters is us. If you want to wait til after the game's over to say anything about us, that's fine. I can respect that." They had made it to their lockers and switch books out. The first class bell had already rang and it was past time for them to be in class. Nathan leaned down and whispered in Haley's ear. "I love you." She mouthed the words back to him as they walked into class. The day was surely going to pass by slowly with the anticipation of making everything between them official after the game tonight. Haley could already feel it. Nathan couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

..

..

"Well, you're lucky, Nathan," Lucas said as he sat down next to him on the bench to tie his shoes.

"How's that?"

"She turned me down. She obviously has feelings for you. You should really go for it."

"Who and what are you talking about, Lucas?" Nathan was sure he was talking about Haley, of course, but he wanted to respect Haley's wishes and keep it to themselves until after the game. Her reasoning was right, the fist game sets the tone for the rest of the season and if things didn't go well on the court tonight, they were doomed to run until they puked at the next practice.

"Don't play dumb with me, Nate. Haley. You won." Lucas wasn't being sarcastic, he was being serious. He knew just how much Haley was worth. He envied Nathan because her heart was his and there was no changing that.

"She's not a trophy, Lucas, and after the way you talked about her, I can't see how you would even start to think you'd have a shot. If you knew her at all, you'd know that she's nothing like what you seem to want her to be."

"She's definitely perfect. And that's far more than I could ever want her to be. You're lucky, Nathan. Just don't take it for granted."

Nathan stood up off the bench and looked down at Lucas. "Don't worry, I won't." Lucas thought that Nathan was being a total dick. Even though Nathan and Haley had been friends forever, Lucas felt like there was no way in the world that Nathan appreciated her the way that she deserved. Nathan had almost reached the door of the locker room when he turned around and looked at Lucas again.

"Good luck out there tonight. First game of the season is always pretty brutal. I'll watch your back. You watch mine. Just remember, this game sets the tone for the whole season." Nathan felt like he'd been saying that a lot today. But between Dan and Whitey, it was drilled in his head every year before the season started. He finished, "You'll do fine. Don't get nervous."

Nathan had left the locker room and a dumbfounded Lucas behind. Where had that come from? They hated each other but yet they seemed to be making nice? Lucas was so confused. One second Nathan had been being a dick to him and the next he was telling him he would play a good game tonight. _He MUST be Bi-Polar._

Out on the court, the cheerleaders were practicing a few cheers before the crowd started showing up. Nathan had walked out to tell Haley one more time that he loved her before he was stuck in basketball mode until the game was over. She was standing on the sidelines holding her pom-poms, watching Brooke direct everyone else. Nathan knew she was concentrating hard and he didn't really want to disturb her. He just wanted to say one thing to her before they were separated for the rest of the night. He didn't want to be away from her for a second but he didn't have a choice. And he HAD to get focused for the game. ...sets the tone...

"Haley!" he loudly whispered. She didn't even notice. He walked a little bit closer but he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Brooke was into her routine and thankfully had turned around so that the girls could follow her. He waved an arm at her and loudly whispered her name again. This time she noticed and called him over to her.

"Nathan, what're you doing outside the locker room? You have to get ready for the game!" she whispered.

"I know, I know. But I had to tell you one more time before I don't get to talk to you for hours. I love you."

"I love you too. Now get your sexy ass back to the locker room and get yourself focused!"

"You focus! You can't cheer for me if you don't know your routine!"

Haley bit her lip. "She changed it up on me. I was used to the one we've been practicing but now she's doing different moves too and it's confusing! I think she did this on purpose, to make me look stupid. I can't be a cheerleader, Nate, I just can't."

Nathan rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "You're MY cheerleader. I'm proud of you no matter what. Even if you mess up a couple moves. Just watch her closely and you'll be able to go with it! If all else fails, bust out some Bring It On moves!" he said, laughing. Unfortunately, he laughed loud enough that Brooke heard him.

She stopped abruptly and turned around to face the two of them. "Haley, I would think that you would want to pay close attention since there's been some changes made to the routine. I won't have a cheerleader on my court making me look like a fool." The venom dripping from Brooke's words was thick and stuck to Haley like glue. She wasn't sure if she could shake it or not. Thankfully, she had someone to stick up for her.

"Last time I checked, this was MY court. I don't see 'Brook Davis' on the floor. I see 'Ravens.' But thanks anyway!" Nathan piped up. He wasn't going to let someone down talk Haley, especially not a snotty little thing like Brooke.

Brooke huffed and turned back around. She started calling out cheers for them to work on. Haley turned to Nathan and thanked him. He nodded, smiled at her and she returned the smile. "Get to cheering! I'm heading for my weekly pep talk. I love you." And with that, he was gone.

Haley whispered an I love you right back but no ears were there to hear it but her own. She watched Brooke and shook her head. She didn't know how this was going to turn out but she was ready to try. For Nathan.

..

..

It was halftime and the Ravens were leading 35 to 12. Nathan and Lucas had only been on the court together for one quarter and during that time, they scored 20 points. They played together like they were Kobe Bryant and Shaq, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. They were the Ravens dream team. It was weird. Maybe that talk they had before the game had something to do with it. No matter what it was, they were playing great and this game was a sure fire win.

"Alright boys, we're playing great out there. Don't let yourselves get winded. If you need a break, come off the floor. I won't let you lose a game because your pride gets in the way," Whitey told the team. "Nathan, Lucas, you two are playing great out there together. Are you sure Dan didn't have you boys practicing together your whole lives?" he chuckled. Lucas and Nathan shook their heads. They were loving the fact that the first game they ever played together was going so awesome.

"You two are in next quarter. When you need a break, let me know. I want to see some more assists and some more threes. Don't take the shot if it's not going in. We don't want to chance them getting the ball. Don't forget that there are three other teammates on the court with you, pass the ball." He went on to tell the everyone that he wanted good passes, strong defense, plenty of rebounds and overall, team spirit. He pumped them all up and got them ready to get back out on the court.

When it was time to head back out on the court, Lucas pulled Nathan aside. "Hey man, can you believe this? Whitey thinks we practiced together. What a joke," he laughed. "Let's get out there and crush those cougars!"

"Ya know, you're not as bad as I thought you were, Luke. Keith did a good job. You're the lucky one." Nathan held up his hand to give Lucas a high five as they walked out of the locker room.

Haley had been watching the locker room door the entire time, waiting on Nathan to walk out. She just wanted to catch his eye for a moment so she could mouth to him how great of a job he was doing. When she saw that he and Lucas were getting along, she had mixed feelings. She was happy because Nathan was finally cutting his brother some slack, she was worried that the only reason he wasn't trying to hit Lucas was because they were playing ball so well together and she was confused as to why the hell they were so buddy buddy now. It was like a total 180. She when caught his attention, Nathan smiled widely at her. She mouthed that she proud of him. He mouthed a thanks right back. Yeah, this was going to be great.

As the third quarter started, Haley had done the entire halftime routine and now she was really in the groove. After watching Nathan and Lucas play so well together in the 2nd, she had all the confidence she needed to make it through the halftime routine without one mistake. This definitely had burst Brooke's bubble but Haley was ecstatic. She was so full of energy and so happy that she had decided to become a cheerleader. It was something that was outside of who she was perceived to be. It shocked everyone. That made her feel good, to know that she had stepped outside her comfort zone and far exceeded her own expectations.

By the middle of the 4th quarter the Ravens were leading 60 to 36 and it was looking great! Nathan was benched, taking a breather, while Lucas continued to play amazingly. Nathan was actually proud of his brother. After all the shit he had talked in the locker room, at least he had skills to back it up. But the more Nathan watched him play, the more worried he started to get. Was Lucas in the running to steal Nathan's captain spot? What was going to happen? His girl was cheering him on, he was playing great, things were even going fantastic with his half brother. This was definitely going to be a great season.

After the game, Nathan invited Lucas over to his dad's beach house for the first game after party. Lucas had heard all about Nathan's parties but he was pretty sure Nate would be different at this party. Hell, it might even be fun. Lucas agreed and got his stuff together to leave. He wanted a real shower at home before he did anything. Maybe he'd meet somebody new while he was there...

Haley had waited for Nathan outside the locker room. When he finally came out, she jumped in his arms. "Baby, you did so great!" She kissed him. It WAS after the game and all.

"Thanks, babe. Hey, I never got the chance to ask you this earlier but... since we kinda told each other how we feel it seems only right to ask... Haley James, will you go out with me?"

Haley's eyes brightened and she instantly smiled a huge smile. "Absolutely!"

_Yep... GREAT season!_

**A/N: Sooo.. whatcha think? Leave it in a review! **


	7. Party In The USA

**A/N: I know y'all have been waiting on this for a while and I'm sorry I haven't gotten it out yet.. I have no excuses.. other than that my life is a crazy, hectic mess. And once Nathan and Haley have declared their feelings, it's hard to go from there.. so, if nobody likes this chapter, I'll re-write it.. just let me know what you think.. Please. Thanks in advance. Chapter title is a song by Miley Cyrus.. please don't kill me for this.. lol. It's only because it's the party after the game. After this chapter, the story's gunna jump a little bit to a couple weeks later.. but for now, since there was mention of the party in the last chapter (at the end) I figured you might wanna see what happens here... **

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**Party In the U.S.A.**

Nathan and Haley had been the first to get to the beach house and Nathan wasn't about to waste precious alone time with Haley doing anything but kissing her all over. He started with her lips then slowly moved to her jaw line, down her neck and to her shoulder. His hands were all over her. He wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right there. They might have just started officially dating but come on, let's get real, Nathan had been in love with Haley for such a long time. There was so much sexual tension built up. He pulled back to see what Haley's reaction was so he knew if he was overstepping any boundaries. He had pressed her against him and she had to be able to feel his excitement. He looked at her gorgeous face and saw that her eyes were closed. She was biting her lip. _Mmm, she enjoys it..._

As Nathan went back to kissing her neck, he slid his hands to her back and tried to unzip her uniform top. Haley stiffened. She wasn't sure what to do. She immediately snapped out of her lustful stupor and took a couple steps back.

"Um.. Nate..."

Nathan slapped a hand to his forehead. _I'm such an idiot... She's a lot better than I am.. Dammit, Nathan..._

"I'm sorry, baby. I should've asked first."

Haley bit her lip again, this time it was out of nervousness. It wasn't that she didn't want to devour every single part of Nathan right this very minute... but she had to stop herself. She had always dreamed of her first time being so romantic. She wanted to wait until her wedding night. How was she supposed to tell Nathan that? Especially now that he was all excited. She should have stopped him sooner but there was no way to pull herself out of it. She was enamored in Nathan's smell, the feel of his lips on hers.. on her jawline in the most sensitive spots... on her neck... _Whoo Haley... calm it down..._ She shut her eyes tight and tried to shake the thoughts from her mind.

"It's okay. We just need to talk about everything," she said, straightening her uniform top and pressing down the pleats of her skirt. She knew Nathan felt bad and she really wanted to avoid this subject right now. They had just declared their feelings for each other earlier that day and he had asked her to be his girlfriend and she just wanted to sail on cloud nine for a bit before they got into some deep discussion that would inevitably end in some sort of argument.

Car doors started closing outside and Nathan heard a large group of people walking up to the door. The shock, thankfully, dispelled his excitement and he gave Haley a quick kiss on the cheek and apologized one more time. He then walked to the front door to greet everyone, starting with Tim who never knocked before entering the beach house.

The team, minus Lucas, were the first of the guests to arrive. Tim had brought a keg and had a couple new Ravens set it up on the balcony. While they were getting the rest of the alcohol together in the kitchen, Tim grilled Nathan about Lucas.

"So this kid's your brother... and now he's on the team with us... he tried to fuck with Haley... and you invited him to the party tonight?"

"Half brother, he's badass if you ask me, don't go there, and yeah, I invited him because it's the right thing to do."

Tim laughed. "Since when do you do 'the right thing'?"

"Since somebody changed my perspective."

"Nate, that's a 5 syllable word. I don't get those."

"It's 3, Tim... and I've always been this way.. with her. But just not to everyone else. She makes me wanna be the guy I am around her around everybody else too."

"I think you're losin' your edge, man."

Nathan smirked. "Nah, just losin' my mask," he said as he turned to walk away. He wanted to find Haley. Just to remind her once more that he loved her. And make sure that she was okay. He had heard Hurricane Brooke and her goon squad come in the front door and was afraid that Haley had encountered them alone. After Brooke finding them on the other side of the quad, they were on her radar for a vile scheme to break the two up. He had hoped that Haley and Brooke could be great friends. Haley needed someone other than him, a girl, to spend time with and do each others hair and makeup. Nathan could remember letting Haley do his hair once when they were in grade school and that had been a huge mistake. Hopefully there would still be time to mend fences with Brooke.

Looking around the living room, he found Haley. She was talking to possibly the dumbest cheerleader he had ever met in his life. Bevin was your stereotypical, blonde bombshell. She had the looks and the school spirit, but definitely not the book smarts or common sense of any normal person. But they seemed to be hitting it off pretty well. Haley had always been a great faker but when it came to her facial expressions, she had certain tell tale signs of dislike. Nathan saw none of those. All he saw was a happy, blissful Haley enjoying a conversation with a new friend.

"...and then I screamed! I swear, that movie was the worst! You should watch it sometime!" Bevin exclaimed.

Haley gave a genuine laugh and caught Nathan approaching her out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think I will after all that!"

"Hey babe! Bev! Want anything to drink?" Nathan asked the two girls.

"Nate! Yes! Vodka!" Bevin said. "I'll be riiiiiiiight back, Haley Bob!" Then she was gone. Trotting off toward Tim and the kitchen in search of her vice.

"Haley Bob? Bevin gave you a nickname?"

Haley laughed. "Yeah, I guess so! Weird though, you know."

"That's what Quinn calls you."

"Yeah... that's what I was about to say." Haley shrugged. "She's..."

"Dumb as a post?"

"Nathan!" Haley slapped his arm. "She's sweet! I like her! And since Brooke flipped out, I think Bevin's gonna be the only thing to possibly keep me on good terms with the squad." Haley looked down at her feet. She felt really bad about telling Brooke that she would put in a good word for her with Nathan and then going and being with him. She didn't even mean to say it, the words just sort of flowed out of her mouth without a second thought. She had to figure out some way to make it up to her. Maybe...

"She's definitely... no, Hales, I can't help it.. she's dumb. But as long as you have a friend, I'm happy for you!" He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips. He could really get used to this whole kissing Haley James thing. And with everyone there, he loved it even more. He finally felt free. His secret he had been keeping was out in the open and he had nothing in the world to worry about.

Until Brooke walked up.

"Well hey there, lovebirds! How's it going?" She held a solo cup in her hand, no doubt full of vodka.

"Hey... Brooke... Um, okay I guess. Havin' fun?" Haley asked with a smile plastered across her lips.

"Oh yeah! Tons of! Just wanted to check on my two _favorite_ people!" She said with disdain evident in her voice.

Haley took her by the elbow and looked over her shoulder as she led Brooke away from Nathan. "Brooke, I really wanna apologize for what happened. I didn't mean for things to go this way. I've been in love with Nathan for a long time but never could admit it. I really have you to thank for the awesome confidence boost that being part of the squad has given me. It made me not be afraid anymore."

Brooke scoffed. "Well I'm so glad that at the expense of me, you're growing up."

"Brooke, I'm really sorry. Please let me make it up to you. Please."

"The only way you can make this up to me is to find me a Nathan clone."

Lucas walked in the front door and Haley caught his eye. He smiled and she waved. Something immediately clicked in Haley's head.

"How about one better?"

Brooke cocked her head to the side and gave Haley a strange look. She saw Haley's eyes dart toward the front door and she turned to see who it was that Haley was staring at.

"Lucas? The Broody Scott brother?" Brooke asked, almost disgusted.

"Have you ever talked to him, Brooke? He's really a super sweet guy. Sweeter than Nathan. And somewhat of a bad boy. He's genuine. You two would really hit it off. Give him a shot! I'll even introduce you!"

Brooke nodded her head. "Hmm, okay then." She slung her free arm around Haley's shoulders and started walking toward Lucas. Haley looked over her shoulder at Nathan and gave him a broad smile. She was mending fences and hopefully this would work.

Lucas walked up to meet Brooke and Haley. He smiled at Haley then at Brooke.

"Hey pretty girls. How's the party so far?"

"Good! You're late!" Haley said.

"I know, sorry." He held out his arms. "Had to change out of those khakis and that dress shirt."

"Lookin' good, Hot Stuff!" Brooke said.

"Thanks," Lucas said, kind of confused as to why Brooke Davis was talking to him. She was just about the most... no she WAS the most popular girl at school. And he was standing here, in front of her, talking to her.

"I'm Brooke. Brooke Davis," she said, holding out her hand.

Lucas shook her hand gently. Damn, she was gorgeous. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lucas Scott."

"The better half of the Ravens dream team!" Brooke complimented.

Lucas nearly blushed as he chuckled. "I guess so. Nathan needed some help, huh?" he said, winking.

"Definitely! And tonight it looked like you were the best thing to happen to the court!" Brooke exclaimed.

Haley backed away from the two and neither of them noticed. She clasped her hands together and set off to find Nathan. It was match-making history and she wanted to share it! First her and Nathan, now Brooke and Lucas. She walked up to Nathan and slung her arms around his neck. She pulled him to her for a deep kiss and a resounding "Oooooooooooo" broke across the house. They both laughed.

"I did it!" Haley beamed. "I think I fixed it all!"

"That's great, Hales!" Nathan hugged her tighter. "I love you."

Haley closed her eyes and whispered back to him, "I love you more."


End file.
